The founder of Anap Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has called on Nigeria’s electoral body to make it possible for registered voters to cast their ballots even if they do not have physical Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), warning that the current system risks turning the PVC into a tool for mass disenfranchisement rather than voter verification.
Peterside spoke on Monday on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he argued that any citizen whose name is already on the voters’ register should not lose the right to vote simply because they never received, or cannot produce, a physical PVC on election day.
“This is also the part I am talking about: If somebody has registered and, in the past, he didn’t have his voters’ card, but he has a passport, or he has the name, I think he should be allowed to vote,” he said.
He added that failing to collect a PVC should not automatically cancel a person’s right to participate in elections.
“Because if he didn’t collect his PVC, that should not disqualify him.”
The PVC Has Clear Limitations – Peterside
Peterside believes the electoral commission is beginning to see the limits of tying voting strictly to physical PVCs.
“I believe this time, slowly, INEC is agreeing that this whole idea of having people disenfranchised because they couldn’t collect a PVC—which you control who collects—is failing.”
He argued that once a voter has completed registration, the burden of delivering the PVC should rest with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rather than the citizen.
He said, “If somebody has registered, for goodness sake, the responsibility for getting his PVC to him should be INEC’s.”
Peterside then proposed a more flexible approach that would lean on technology and digital identity instead of only plastic cards.
He said, “Allow him to download his PVC and go and vote. Otherwise, the PVC is being used as an instrument to disenfranchise selected voters, and it happens massively across the country, and it must stop.”
The founder of Stanbic IBTC went further and asked the commission to provide an alternative system that lets voters access their PVCs electronically.
He said, “So I believe this time you can get your PVC, download it yourself, but we have to make sure these things happen.”
For Peterside, the main issue is that voters who have taken the time to register should not be locked out over logistics they cannot control, especially in a country where young people already struggle to trust the system.
Applauds INEC’s Deadline Extension, Warns on Youth Voters
Peterside also spoke about his non‑partisan civic initiative, GoNigeria, which is designed to encourage mostly younger Nigerians to register, collect their PVCs and vote, and to keep them engaged in democratic processes beyond election periods.
He welcomed INEC’s recent decision to extend the voter registration deadline ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing it as a rare example of the commission acting in favour of inclusion rather than restriction.
He said, “So let’s applaud them for doing something positive, because some of us feared that INEC was in a hurry to impose a deadline, lock out all these people, and possibly reduce the number of registered voters by making sure that many of the younger ones are disenfranchised.”
The former banker argued that many timelines the commission has set in the past have been unnecessarily tight and risked excluding new voters, especially students and first‑time registrants.
He said, “…I think many of these deadlines [from INEC] are much too early. So I’m happy that in their own wisdom they’ve come out. So let’s applaud them.”
Peterside emphasised that critics should also acknowledge when INEC takes steps that expand participation.
He said, “So, that is on record that sometimes we applaud INEC. It’s a very good thing, because I don’t see why—I mean, the 10th of July to me was too restrictive; it was never feasible—so adding two more weeks is something positive.”
